Background - risk factorsDuring the past decades, Africa has been facing a number of shocks due to climate change as well as high and volatile food and fuel prices. These factors have undermined an already fragile economic and agriculture base, aggravating the food insecurity and nutritional status of its population in rural and urban areas. Risks related to farming and to agricultural trade have caused instability in food supply, reduced food access and utilization, and badly affected the most vulnerable.

Regional workshop (16-18 May) The NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency with support from FAO and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) organized a regional workshop for Southern and Eastern Africa on agriculture and food security risk management, from the 16 to 18 May in Johannesburg, to help NEPAD-CAADP and partners mainstream risk management into national and regional agricultural investment plans.

Mission objectives The objective of the workshop was (1) to increase awareness among South and East African countries on agricultural, price and food security risks and on possible mitigating tools, (2) to start a process of capacity building and risk analysis in the concerned countries, leading to an integration of those risks and mitigating tools within the CAADP investment plans and agricultural development strategies, both at the country and regional levels.

The good implementation of a risk management strategy is at least as important as the potential effect of the tools used. It requires: good governance, predictability in government monitoring decisions (therefore a clear government intervention strategy), public/private partnership, and the provision of public goods.

ParticipantsParticipants included government representatives from nine South and East African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and South Sudan and Angola).